1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of embodiments described herein apply to the sensory content of digital and non-digital audio and audio-visual media.
2. The Relevant Technology
Music, movies, video games, television shows, advertising, live events, and other media content rely on a mix of sensory content to attract, engage, and immerse an individual, audience, or spectators into the media presentation offerings. Increasingly, sensory content is electronically conveyed through speakers and screens, and uses a mix of audio and audio-visual means to produce sensory effects and perceptions, including visceral and emotional sensations and feelings.
Even where visual content and information is the main emphasis, audible content is often used to achieve desired effects and results. Theme parks, casinos, and hotels; shopping boutiques and malls; and sometimes even visual art displays use audible content to engage the audience or consumer. Some forms of media, like music and radio, are audio in nature.
By definition audible content is heard. Human hearing is sensitive in the frequency range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz, though this varies significantly based on multiple factors. For example, some individuals are only able to hear up to 16 kHz, while others are able to hear up to 22 kHz and even higher. Frequencies capable of being heard by humans are called audio, and are referred to as sonic. Frequencies higher than audio are referred to as ultrasonic or supersonic, while frequencies below audio are referred to as infrasonic or subsonic. For most people, audible content and media does not contain frequencies lower than 20 Hz or greater than 20 KHz, since the human ear is unable to hear such frequencies. The human ear is also not generally able to hear low volume or amplitude audio content even when it lies in the range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
Audio content is not only heard, it is also often emotionally and viscerally felt. This can also apply to inaudible content. Audio frequencies or tones of low amplitude, or audio frequencies and tones that fall outside the general hertz range of human hearing, can function to enhance sensory perceptions, including the perceptions of the sensory content of audio and audio-visual media.
It is therefore desirable to enhance perceptions of the sensory content of audio and audio-visual media using compositions that are inaudible in their preferred embodiments and are typically generated by infrasound and/or ultrasound component frequencies or tones. Such compositions may be matched to, and combined with, audible content or audio-visual content and conveyed to the end-user or audience through a wide variety of speaker systems. It is further desirable that such speaker systems function as a stand-alone system or be used in conjunction with, or integrated with, screens or other devices or visual displays.